Cate Lord: Thank you so much to My Book Addiction and More for granting me an interview! I’m thrilled to be here and to tell readers a bit about myself.

I’ve been married to the same man—a tall, dark-haired, charming Brit with a yummy accent—for more than nineteen years. I’m also Mom to a teenage girl and the proud mistress of a spoiled male rescue cat who enjoys chewing on my netbook when I’m trying to write. I love to cook and bake, and am currently trying recipes created by Jamie Oliver and Ina Garden, from shows I’ve watched on the Food Network. I also love to work in my garden, read, visit museums and art galleries, browse antique shops, go shopping with my daughter, and spend time with my family. I don’t like noisy crowds, rude people, hailstorms, or mushy spaghetti.

MBA: What made you decide to write the genre you write? Why?

CL: Lucky Girl is my first contemporary romantic comedy, my first novel written entirely in first person, and my first release with Entangled Publishing. It’s also my first book penned under my contemporary pseudonym, Cate Lord. As some readers may know, I previously published six medieval romances as Catherine Kean. I adore the historical genre, but craved trying something new. I challenged myself to write a chick-lit style book, and that’s how Lucky Girl came to be.

MBA: In your own words tell our readers a little about “your current release”(we’ll add the title and a link to the book)?

CL: Lucky Girl is a quirky, funny, lighthearted story that I describe as “Bridget Jones dates James Bond.” Jessica Devlin, the twenty-nine-year-old heroine, is the beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine and she takes a long overdue vacation to be maid-of-honor in her English cousin’s wedding. Jess is a bit uneasy about the trip, however, after recently being dumped by her fiancé while planning her own wedding, and an embarrassing episode two years ago after her beloved grandfather’s funeral; it involved an English pub, too many drinks, and a handsome Brit who held her in his arms and soothed her while she cried.
Of course, Jess believes there’s a one in a gazillion chance of her running into James Bond gorgeous Nick Mondinello again—but guess who is at the wedding? Jess firmly believes marketing exec Nick isn’t right for her, since he’s a playboy like her dad who left when she was twelve. Fate, though, keeps throwing her and Nick together in ways she never expected. He couldn’t possibly be Mr. Right. Could he? J Lucky Girl is a story that I hope will keep readers smiling until the very last page.

MBA: Where did you get the idea for this story?

CL: Lucky Girl is very loosely based on a year I lived and studied in England—one of the most fun, inspiring, and memorable years of my life. I stayed with my aunt and uncle in Hertfordshire and on weekdays, took the train down to London to attend classes. On weekends, I partied with a great group of friends I’d met through my cousins. Some of the situations Jess encounters in the book were inspired by things that happened to me, although I embellished them quite a bit to fit my story! J

MBA: What advice do you have for those who’d like to write but don’t know where to start?

CL The mere thought of writing a book can be daunting. I have friends who are exceptionally talented writers, who say they could never write a novel because they just don’t know how to begin or are afraid of the major time commitment. I suggest they start by writing two pages a day. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t perfect pages; you can always go back and revise later. Those two pages per day will quickly add up in terms of page count.

Don’t know where to begin the novel? Write the scene that’s clearest in your mind, even if it’s in the middle of the book. Work backward from this point, or even jump several scenes ahead. It’s amazing how your creativity will spark ideas for the adjoining scenes. It doesn’t matter if the book isn’t written in sequence, as long as in the end, all of the scenes link together smoothly and the novel conveys a solid plot and character growth.

I always encourage writers who want to break into the romance genre to join their local chapter of Romance Writers of America. There are many excellent resources available through RWA, from online classes on writing craft and top-notch conferences to the networking opportunities within individual chapters. I met my closest friends and critique partners through my local chapter.

MBA: What’s your favorite movie? Why?

CL: I adore Romancing the Stone. The beginning where Kathleen Turner types “The End” on her manuscript and gets all teary-eyed with relief and happiness always touches my heart. I feel that way every time I wrap up a book.

MBA: Where can our readers find you?

CL: Readers are welcome to visit my website at www.catelord.com for more information on me, my books, and appearances. I also love to connect with readers via Facebook and Goodreads.

Thanks to the awesome Cate and Danielle at Entangled, I’m thrilled to offer readers a chance to win 1 ebook copy of LUCKY GIRL by Cate Lord. This giveaway will run from today, September 2nd until September 5th, 2011. Giveaway is open internationally. In order to win just tell me what you think sounds most interesting about Cate’s LUCKY GIRL. Good luck to everyone! And thanks to Cate for being our guest today and to Danielle for allowing us to take part in this great blog tour. (That’s 1 winner who gets 1 copy of LUCKY GIRL in ebook format)

I like that it is a romance served with humor, has a handsome Brit to deal with and has elements of real life (and wouldn’t we all love to hear more about that! ;o)) I, too, hope it’s available for Nook. Thanks for the chance to win it.